Baby J is 2!!

On January 26, our little J turned 2! We had a great day celebrating his birthday! This was our first birthday to celebrate with him!

 J and I went and picked out some balloons for him. He loved playing with them, and they are still floating around the house being played with!

When Michael got home from school, we let J open his presents! He got a new guitar which he loves!

He also got a basketball goal! Both boys love this! We've had to bring it back inside on cold days. He woke up the next morning asking to go outside to play "ball ball".  His two favorite things. Outside and balls!

(Just a side note, but since Daddy carried in the basketball goal, J thinks that it was from Daddy. So when we talk about his birthday, he always says, "Daddy, Ball ball!")


He is actually really good! I see many sports in his future!

We brought it outside and they played forever with it!

For dinner that night, we got pizza and I bought some little cupcakes!
His favorite thing was blowing out the candles! He did it over and over and over! Like 20 times!

The next day, he got to open his present his "Middle mama" sent him! Wow is he spoiled! But he loves his car, and rides it every day it isn't raining! He follows Michael around on his go cart! Two boys driving around the yard! (He also says daddy got this for him too, since Daddy was the one bringing it out of the garage!)

On Saturday morning, we had a little family party for him at Chick-fil-a. We did a jungle animal theme, because that is what he picked out!

Not the best picture, but as good as it gets. 

Here is the birthday boy ready to blow out his candle!

Proud Mama and Daddy!

J, we love you so much and are so proud of how you have grown! You are 2 years old now! 

You still don't say a lot of words, but you make sure we understand what you want/need. You still love going to speech therapy once a week. Ms. Gina is your favorite! We are trying to get you to start saying two word sentences. I'm sure you will start talking when you are ready.

You love Michael, and ask all day long where he is! When he gets home from school, you are so excited to have him home to play with! 

Your appetite changes on a daily basis. Some days I can't feed you enough, and some days, you don't want anything to eat. Cheese, yogurt, milk, hot dogs, spaghetti, crackers, cereal bars, and fruit snacks are your favorites! Any snack type food you will eat also. 

But you are growing and gaining weight. You are 33" and about 25 lbs. We go to the doctor next week, so we will get a definite measurement. 

You are able to play by yourself more and more these days, which gives mommy time to get stuff done around the house, other than when you are napping. 

You still love mommy the most, but Daddy is a close second. 

You are doing much better with the church nursery. I still have to go with you, but last week, you went by yourself for about 10 minutes. Maybe by the time you are ready to go by yourself, it will be time to move up to the 2 year old class. (In August)

You tried to climb out of your crib the other week, but I caught you while you were still straddling the railing. We made sure you knew that was a no-no, and I haven't seen you try again, and You haven't come down the stairs after we put you to bed, so I don't think you have tried again. But I know you will...

Mimi gave you money for new shoes for your birthday, so we went the day of your party to go find some. You walked in wearing a size 5 and walked out in a size 7! Sorry buddy, I'm sure your feet were all cramped in your old shoes!

Most of your clothes are size 18-24 months. But I know you are growing, because some of your pants are starting to get too short!  

This is my last monthly post, but will still be updating on the adoption, and how he is doing in our home post placement. 

Baby J is 23 Months Old!

So, on December 26, J turned 23 months old!

He is growing and changing so much! His little personality is so funny and keeps us laughing!

He eats great! He is back to loving yogurt, which is great! He also loves cheese! Anything I am eating, he wants to eat, so that is how I get him  to eat a lot of new things.

He loves books! He will sit on my lap and bring me book after book. I got him some new Sandra Boynton books for Christmas and they are his new favorites. He also got some new Thant's not my... books and loves them too!

He is up to 33 inches and about 25 pounds!

He is sleeping great! 13 hours a night. Plus naps 2 hours a day!

He is still not talking that great, but he tries. He calls Michael, "Didle". Flash is "Ash" and Molly is "Olly" He tries hard. He will get it one day. But for now, he talks enough to let us know what he needs/wants. We will continue with Speech therapy for another 3 months and then reevaluate.

We had a great Christmas, and he didn't miss a beat while opening presents! He knew exactly what to do. His favorite presents were a remote control car and lots of balls. He also got a trike that I thought he would love, but I was wrong. Maybe he will like it more when he can peddle it by himself.

He is playing independently a lot more often now. It is nice to not have to constantly entertain him, and see him happily playing in the play room by himself.

He has a lot more interest in TV! Not that we want him watching TV all the time. But if it gives me a chance to take a shower without little eyes peeping through the curtain constantly, I'm happy! He loves a show on Netflix called Little Baby Bum. It is just nursery rhymes, but he loves it! Michael has also introduced him to Curious George, and he likes that too!

It is great that we live in the south, because the weather is mild, and not too cold. J would be outside all day long if possible!

He is so fun, and makes us laugh all the time! We love you baby J!

7 Months with Baby J and 22 month update

7 Months with Baby J and 22 month update

Well this post is very late! Thanksgiving vacation got me distracted, and then. Last week I was busy getting back to normal life. So here I am, 2 weeks late posting his update. So I decided to just combine the two. 

J has been doing great!! Sleeping great, eating great, playing by himself good, branching out to new toys for longer period of times, sitting and watching a show for a short period of time. 

He is just doing really well. Growing and changing all the time. He is getting taller and gaining weight still. 

He still doesn't say much, but he tries. Speech therapy is going well still and he loves Ms, Gina! He also loves books!! 

We spent a week at the beach during thanksgiving week and it was incredible! 

We had the best time and J did so well. He did great in the car on the way down and slept so good while we were there. 

The only thing that did not go well was our visit with Goofy and Donald Duck. They were at the resort taking pictures on thanksgiving. J freaked out!! Screaming and crying and holding onto me like they were the scariest things he had ever seen. So, needless to say, no pictures with the characters! 

So, this is a super short post, but I'll be back in a few weeks with the next month's update. 

Baby J is 21 Months Old!!

Baby J, you are 21 months old! You are getting so big and are so close to turning 2!
This month you did a lot of the same stuff as last month.So not much new to report.

You are sleeping great, now that we are putting you to bed earlier! You have even slept a few 14 hour nights!! Crazy! Also, your naps are getting longer too! Maybe you are having a growth spurt, or you just are getting more and more comfortable here and relaxing more. Whatever it is, we are loving the extra sleep you are getting, and I think you are loving it too!

You are up to 24 lbs! and 33 inches tall! You have grown 5 inches since coming home!!That means you are in the 29% for weight and 30% for height!! Way to go! When you came to us, you were in the 5% for both!

Food is still hit or miss, but that is a toddler thing, so I expect it. I just offer you lots of options, and hope you will eat something. You do love your milk (pediasure) and I'm sure that is why you are growing so much!!

You still aren't talking much, but your speech therapist says you are making good progress. She just wishes you would say more actual words. We will keep working on it. I started working with you to learn your colors, and it seems like a lost cause. You really don't have any interest in them.

We have discovered something that you like to watch on TV. ABC Mouse videos! They are on youtube, and you want to watch the same 5 over and over! I keep trying to add more, but you still just want the same 5. But these songs are helping you say a few more words. Like, "fell, bed, jump, over, (5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, 10 in the bed) so that's good!

Your favorite place to be is outside! You would spend all day outside, blowing bubbles!!

We love you more and more everyday and are so much fun!

Baby J is 20 Months Old!!

20 Months old already!! I cannot believe how fast time is going! 

J is doing great!! But I'm afraid he is entering the terrible twos a little early. Michael had more of the terrible three's, so I was not prepared for this to happen so early. But that goes for everything they do. They are complete and total

Opposites!! So we are learning all new ways to parent a strong willed, stubborn child. 

He is also full of sweet funny moments too! He loves his big brother and wants to do everything he does and be with him all the time. 

He has learned to smile when I take his picture now, which is great!! Before I was lucky if I happened to get him smiling, but now he will smile at the camera! 

He is busy busy busy!! Does not sit still for a minute!! But that means he crashes hard at nap time and bed time! He is doing great falling asleep by himself and staying asleep! He is still taking a two hour nap (12-2) and sleeps 12+ hours each night (7 pm - 7:30 am)

He is still not eating much during the day, but he usually will eat a lot at dinner! He kinda just grazes and snacks during the day. He just doesn't want to sit still and eat! But he is always drinking his pediasure! So at least he is getting some calories into him. 

He is up to 23 lbs! 

He is wearing mostly size 18 months clothes now! All the 12 month pants are too short. 

He is still in size 3 diapers  

He is doing good talking and still enjoying speech therapy. 

He can now point to nose, head, hair, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, belly, hands, fingers, feet, toes, and cheeks. 

He is also doing good with animal sounds. He can do a cow, sheep, pig, horse, dog, cat, and bird. 

He asks to go outside ALL DAY LONG! And now that the weather is cooling off, we spend lots of time outside. 

He also asks to play with a ball all day long. He has this little bat, and walks around hitting balls all over he house. 

Anytime he sees a big vehicle, he yells "Ohh Big Truck!!" He also loves motorcycles! 

He wears me out, but I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world! He makes me laugh everyday, and we just love him so much!! 

Baby J is 19 Months Old

You are 19 months old now!! I can not believe it! 

You love your brother! And want to play with him all the time! Whatever he is doing, you want to be doing it too! 

You love your daddy too! Anytime the phone rings, he starts saying "Daddy! Daddy!" The same thing happens when the dogs bark at something outside. You think daddy is home from work and go running to the door! 

You are getting big! You weigh 22 pounds and are 31 inches tall! 

You moved up to some 18 month clothes, but still can wear 12 months too. Just not one piece outfits/jammies.

You are getting more picky with what you like to eat. It's a good thing you like the pediasure and drink 2 cans a day! 

Over the past couple of weeks you have discovered how great books are! You ask to read books all the time now! 

You have no interest in movie or tv. When Michael is watching something, you just a run around playing. 

You love music and ask to listen to it all the time. And by ask, you point to the radio in the kitchen and start dancing. You are a great little dancer! 

You love speech therapy, and Miss. Gina! You are making huge strides in your speech. You are up to more than 20 words! Your dr says you will probably get kicked out soon, since you are doing so well. But Miss. Gina says not if she can help it. She loves you!

Words you can say: Mama, Daddy, cheese, door, cracker, fish, no, yes, uh huh, doggy, juice, water, chair, ball, car, bubbles, shoes, poop, hat, cold, hot, more, boo-boo, what's that?, I don't know

You love to be outside! The sandbox is your favorite, but the wagon and car are a close second. You also love the trampoline, as long as Michael isn't jumping too big on it with you! 

We have managed to get you to use your binky less and less. We don't ever have it out around the house and it stays strictly in your crib and diaper bag. Car rides you still use it, unless you are in a fantastic mood. We do let you have it at church, since that is still a pretty hard place for you. 

Speaking do church, we have taken you out of nursery for the time being. You would have pretty good days in the nursery, but we discovered that on Sunday nights, you were having a really hard time going to bed. Lots of tears and not wanting mommy to leave the room, or even put you down. We decided the two were probably connected, and kept him out this past Sunday and bed time went a lot easier. No screaming! 

You are such a cutie and you make us laugh all the time! We love having you as part of our family! 

Baby J is 18 Months Old!!

It is crazy how fast time is flying by! J is already 18 months old! How did that happen so quickly?

He is doing great and growing every day! 

The pediasure is helping him put on some weight and he is getting taller too!

He is also still eating great!! 

I just had to go buy him some new pajamas, because he is finally outgrowing the 12 month size! 

He is still in a lot of size 12 month clothes, but also moving into 18 month size. 

He is still in size 3 diapers, and probably will be for a while. 

He still isn't saying that many words, and will be starting speech therapy next week. I am really hoping to see a big difference once we start that. He is saying, Daddy, mama, Molly, cold, hot, boo-boo, no-no 

He is also signing milk, more, please, all done, eat, and sometimes cracker, cookie and cheese. 

The only animal sound he knows is moo for cow. And when I ask him a different animal, he says moo. We are working on it. 

He also refuses to point to body parts. We ask him where his nose is, or eyes, or belly and he just laughs. 

But he is so smart and understands everything we are saying to him. 

He is so active and runs everywhere! He loves to run and kick the soccer ball. 

He is loving cars and trucks right now too! 

He has a little temper, especially when he doesn't get what he wants. He will throw mean temper tantrum forever! Lord help me with this strong willed child! 

He also does not like the word no, and completely ignores me when I say it. I have to go physically remove him from what he is doing, and usually he just goes right back to doing it! 

Sleep is a strange thing with him. Some days he will nap for 2 hours, go right to bed and sleep 12+ hours uninterrupted. Then there are other days where he will only nap for an hour, fight going to bed and then wake up in the middle of the night and be wide awake for a couple of hours. (Like right now! I am sitting in his room at 4 am and he has been awake since 2:30!) We have tried different things and tonight we are trying the, leave him in his crib and sit in the chair next to it to see if he will go back to sleep. We have tried letting him cry. We have tried putting him in bed with us, we have tried bringing him downstairs and watching tv. But every time it is the same thing. He is wide awake for a couple of hours, and then he will eventually fall back asleep. This happens about once a week, and it makes no sense to me. 

This little tornado is going to age me! I told Andrew that there will be a distinct difference in the way I look before J and then a year later! My hair will be more gray and my face will have a ton of "worry lines"!  And I think I will look tired, from being so tired! 

But it will all be worth it! He is worth it! We love you baby J! You bring chaos, excitement, and a lot of energy into our home!

But you also bring love and we are so grateful you are here! 

Baby J is 17 Months Old!

Baby J turned 17 months on Sunday! Time is flying by with this peanut! He is growing and changing everyday! 

Here is what he is up to at 17 months:

He got a new tooth! It finally came in and he has three more trying to poke through, but have not come in yet! 

He has figured out that I am "Mama" and says it all day, every day! 

He is still sleeping great! 12+ hours a night. He doesn't always go right to sleep at night, but once he is a sleep he is usually good for the night. 

He loves the swimming pool! He loves jumping in and going under water. He doesn't like sitting in his baby float though. He wants to be free to swim around and get out of the pool to jump back in. 

He has mastered going up and down the stairs. We have the splash area at Disney to thank for that. He was up and down those stairs so many times that week! But now I don't worry about him falling face first down the stairs at home. 

He can also climb up on every chair/couch/coffee table/kitchen chair/table etc... we have at home. He is always climbing up on something. 

He loves his big brother! Wants to play with him and be with him all the time. 

He also loves his daddy so much! When Andrew gets home from work, he screams with excitement and is so happy to see him. 

But if Mama is around, I'm still the favorite! 

He now weighs 21.8 lbs. and is 30.25" tall.  He is still little, but very slowly gaining just a little weight. He is getting taller, so I think any weight he is gaining is going to make him taller. It's crazy, cause he eats all day long! 

Speaking of eating, he is eating great! He loves Greek yogurt, watermelon, grapes, PB&J, blueberries, rice, Mac and cheese, spaghetti, any kind of crackers and cookies or cereal. He likes crunchy things. He likes lots of different veggies and ate a whole bowl of frozen veggies last week.  I was getting some frozen veggies out to cook for dinner, and he wanted what I had, so I gave him some and he kept asking for more! He has started eating a little cheese, but still not a big fan of any meat. It's a good thing he gets a lot of protein from the Greek yogurt. 

He is drinking a lot more milk, now that we have added the carnation instant breakfast to it. He usually drinks anywhere from 2-3 cups a day! 

He is talking a lot more. He now says mama, dada, ball, doggy, cold, hot, no, thank you, more, cracker, and cookie. He also shakes his head yes to answer a question.  

He also does the sign for more, eat, all done, cracker, cookie, please, milk, and poop!

He is still doing great being a part of our family! We are so blessed that God decided to add little J to our family!!